Jeremy Jay - Slow Dance

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5...according to our Brian on Thu 27 Aug, 2009.

I've got this insane soft spot for Jeremy Jay ya know. He has this new CD called Slow Dance on K and the songs are just blinding. His vocal style reminds me a bit of Lawrence from Felt (circa 'Penelope Tree') and the music doesn't sound too far removed from that era either. I get a bit of The Cars & Television, brittle skinny tie new-wave with delicious radio hooks. I love the sparsity of the songs, they strike me as perfectly formed pop vignettes from another time when simplicity was a virtue and musicians didn't try to dictate your life, just guide your dreams gently. Scratchy, chiming guitar, a cheap melancholic keyboard, unobtrusive bass flourishes & and sympathetic drums are the order of the day here. I'm not gonna cherry pick any tracks from this album as highlights as they're all totally great and make me wanna sip a root beer on some breezy sidewalk whilst surreptitiously checking out girls in dayglo dresses and wild makeup laughing wildly as they pass my svelte, stylish bretton-noir figure, skulking shyly in the shadows. Actually a couple of these songs just make me feel like crying (with happiness!), I feel the primal emotion of the most subtle chord changes. Wonderful.......

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Jeremy Jay walks where a winter theme pervades, where the backdrop for the scenes from his new album Slow Dance [KLP197] take place. Slow Dance starts with a bang. It navigates listeners through forests and over star streams as easily as walking through the streets, before it shifts to dance floor romance and night-time escapades. There is a consistent, mysterious sway; a strong will backed by noble guitars and shiny synths. Amidst, Jay is protective and candid, inviting listeners to dance with a whisper. A romance of dreams and realities, full colors, ice skates and disco lights. Recorded in winter-time at the Dub Narcotic Studio (Olympia, Washington) in a succession of silhouettes, Jay (synth and guitar; joined by Derek James on bass, Nick Pahl on drums and Ilya Malinsky on guitar) varies speeds with smooth precision. “Slow Dance” and “Winter Wonder” have a repetitive, loose charm. “In This Lonely Town” and “Breaking the Ice” maintain a strident beat; “Will You Dance with Me?” and “Where Could We Go Tonight?” end with questions where the response feels limitless. The glide on ice transfers to the dance floor with ease.

Tracks :

We Were There
In This Lonely Town
Gallop
Canter Canter
Slow Dance
Winter Wonder
Will You Dance With Me?
Breaking The Ice
Slow Dance 2
Where Could We Go Tonight?

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